Hope Is Just A Word
by MazzyBooks
Summary: All it can take is one night for even the mightiest to fall. Sonic was no exception. Unable to trust the people he would risk his life to save, and a unexplained hatred for his friends, the hero falls hard. No one knows what's going on or why he's acting this way, but then no one sees what happens behind closed doors. Sonic will do everything in his power to keep it that way.
1. Chapter 1

**Whooo my first story in a long time :D**

 **Okay so again, basic idea of where this is going, if anyone had read my stuff before, expect triggers and emotional things coming your way.**

 **This story will contain drug use, so pre-warned about that. Whenever I write about stuff like this, always remember I do it to highlight that this is what goes on in the world and I mean no disrespect to anyone.**

 **Anyways, now that that's all said, time to be a true, dedicated fan and make the character I love so much suffer :D (my days fangirls a weird)**

 **Hope you enjoy, leave a review and hopefully I'll be updating soon.**

* * *

Smoke flew inside his throat, suffocating him. The air was dense with it. Broken robotic debris littering the ground, sparking and being the cause of the foul mist.

He must have been the only one to notice. A large crowd gathered, standing on the streets, the roads, even on top of cars. They all did the same thing. Stare up to the tallest tower, raising their voices in appreciation at the one they looked up at.

Sonic looked down at them all. It was an ocean of blank faces and their voices, happy and cheerful, merged into one song of hollow blah. It was nothing, not anymore.

They couldn't see him from down there. The humans… Even as the tornado flew by, his best friend cheering his name alongside them. It was nothing. His friends… couldn't have seen.

His chest rose, and fell, unable to breathe through the smoke that reached even the tallest tower. Eggman had left, left them all too it. Perhaps if he knew what was coming next, he would have stayed and watched.

Sonic swayed. His feet balancing on the very edge of the tower, looking down at the ant sized crowd below his unsteady feet. Several rapid blinks, but his eyes wouldn't focus. His vision blurred, lights dancing around his pupils and suddenly the ground didn't look that far away.

Step away. All he needed to do was step away, just get off the edge and hide.

Slowly Sonic turned around, his back now the focus of the admiring humans, each still cheering and rejoicing his victory.

One foot forward. That was all Sonic needed to do.

He lifted his foot… but it didn't go forward.

The crowd still roared loudly, but it was no longer in celebration. They all screamed and an instant fearful bout shook them as it happened.

Sonic didn't step forward. He fell backwards.

He fell from the tower, his body completely limp. He didn't spin. He didn't aim his feet to the ground. He was falling and his body was going to take all the impact.

There was no one fast enough to save him.

All they could do was watch as he plummeted down to the ground.

Death, was surly a mercy for him now though.

* * *

It started three months ago. An ordinary day, running at the speed of light through the city highways. Sonic laughed to himself, looking back and seeing Sam Speed grow smaller in the distance as he left him behind. "Sorry pal, maybe next time I'll go blind folded to give you a chance?" he called back arrogantly, despite knowing he couldn't be heard.

He dashed on ahead, deciding now would be a good time to call it a day. He'd been going none stop for two days, running and exploring. He'd ran over to the southern part of China, a country he was found of. Only he rarely had time to stop and enjoy the sights, as it turns out he and Eggman had the same idea. Naturally one dragon robot smash later, Sonic was ready to head back. The local village insisted however that he stay the night. The family he stayed with was nice, he'd have to visit them soon.

His journey back hadn't been a breeze either. Not only due to Sam's insistence of a race he must have known he'd lose, but a ground of anti-mobian activists tried to get the jump on him. Sonic didn't know when these groups formed or how, but they were people who were against the ideals of talking animals having civil rights. They always argued Sonic and his friends were dangerous, only a matter of time until they turned and attacked people like primates, or something like that.

It was hardly something Sonic couldn't handle, but they did often get under his feet. There was so much about this world and the human's way of doing things that he was eager to learn. These activists just confused him. On his planet if someone didn't like something they said nothing and kept their distance, not make such a big deal about it.

The time was late, the night already half over with the city still keeping busy.

Sonic avoided the neon lights and busy crowds by walking through the back streets instead. Once there he could settle for a small walk. A chance to catch his breath back.

He rarely ever needed to breathe after running, but unfortunately the trap the activists set for him had been unexpected, and surprisingly clever. Naturally he escaped within two seconds, but not without catching his leg against a loose sheet of metal. The cut wasn't deep but it stung.

Sometimes he didn't know why he bothered. They got a child to cry for help, then before he knew it the kid pushed him back and a metal box covered in barbed wire almost grabbed him.

What was impressing was how fast it happened. It was quick even by his standards.

Sonic paused for a moment, leaning against the side of a wall and taking a deep sigh. He felt tired. A new feeling for him. Looking down at his leg, the cut wasn't that visible. Most of the scaring went down past his socks, tearing along his foot. He couldn't feel much but he'd have to check if any metal was left in there later.

"Shut it punk! Where's my money!"

Snapping his head, Sonic's ears were quick in focus at the distant voice. He pushed himself from the wall, his fists balled up as he stood in a fight stance. He listened out, everything was silent for a moment, until he heard what sounded like glass shattering.

Really he should learn his lesson, but if Sonic learned anything growing up it was to always give benefit of the doubt.

Using his famous speed, he raced around the corner to the sound of the fight.

There he saw two guys, one clearly a lot younger than the other, who was currently pinned against the wall, the broken bottle in his hand. The other man who had him by the throat had blood running along his face, and a smile that was anything but pleasant. "Oh you shouldn't have done that pretty boy. Now you're really gonna suffer!" As the man yelled, he raised his fist in the air. When the glint caught Sonic's eyes, he knew that in the fist the man was holding a knife.

No convincing was needed. Without warning Sonic leapt into his spin and dashed at the man. The offender was thrown to the wall, knife flung far away as his body cracked into the trash cans.

It happened in a blink of an eye, the boy that had been pinned to the wall fell to his knees, coughing and wheezing, regaining his breath after being strangled.

Slowly he looked up, gasping as he recognised his saviour. "S-Sonic… the hedgehog?" he mumbled.

The blue furred animal approached him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You okay?" he asked.

He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something… different about this guy. He looked a little older then Chris, but not too old. His hair was in dreadlocks and his clothes were extremely baggy. None of that was the problem though, what was weird was his eyes. They were obviously blue but, around them, was nothing but red. Really, really red! His pupils were dilated. It was… creepy.

Of all the people he had met, Sonic had never seen someone like this before.

"Dude, thanks so much for the save!" this guy suddenly blurted out. It wasn't just his eyes that were off, his breath stank as well.

Holding his nose, Sonic stepped back to keep his distance. "It's nothing, don't worry. I'll run to the police station so they can arrest him while he's out cold" he offered, looking over at the unmoving form among the trash.

"No don't!" Suddenly the young man was on his feet and grabbed Sonic's arm, taking the hedgehog completely off guard. Personal space was something he clearly didn't know about as Sonic tried to pull his arm away. "Why not?" he asked, raising his brow.

Finally, the stranger let go, "Oh man, they don't care about guys like us. They're only there for the people who can afford to pay taxes" he complained.

Sonic wasn't convinced though, "Really."

"Yeah like, several of the fuds walked past when that dude grabbed me, they didn't do nothing."

Sonic looked back over to the trash heap. A leg twitched so at least he wasn't dead. Something was really strange about this situation, he wasn't sure how to put his finger on it though. "Why was he attacking you?"

The young man went quiet, his red eyes rolling back into his head for a moment. Eventually he settled with shrugging. "I dunno, he's crazy I guess. Hey what happened to your leg?"

Sonic looked down at his wound, consciously hiding his leg behind the other. "It's nothing, just a scratch" he shrugged.

"No way dude, that looks bad. Come on we'll go back to my place and I'll fix it up. You helped me, let me return the favour" before Sonic could answer he turned and started walking away.

"Huh? Hey wait" Sonic called out, not clear on what was suddenly happening. "What about him?"

The young man stuck out his tongue and laughed. "He's fine, leave him. He'll be on his feet in like two minutes. Now come on, if you're in pain I got stuff to help you out. By the way, my name's Eren, what's yours?"

The blue hedgehog stared at him, blinking a couple of times with disbelief at the question. "Umm Sonic. You said my name before" he reminded.

"Duuude are you Sonic the hedgehog?"

"… yes. How many other blue hedgehogs do you see?"

"Oh awesome! Come back to mine, I'll fix your leg!"

Sonic still had so much to learn about this world and humans, one thing for sure was this guy was a mystery on his own. He could only stare after this guy as he stumbled along the streets, using the walls to lean against.

He stopped to look back, yelling for Sonic to follow.

Normally Sonic would have known better. His judgement would have told him something wasn't right and that he should have stayed away. But he was tired, his leg hurt and he was curious. Not to mention, he had to help Eren get home, the guy was unstable, and he always had to help.

Besides, he looked harmless. What's the worst that could happen?

Nothing Sonic couldn't handle…

But this was the night that started it all. How could he have ever known, that his greatest enemy, one he had no power against, or any chance of escaping, was only ten minutes away?


	2. Chapter 2

**Whoo Hoo, chapter 2!**

 **Hey guys, new update and thank you so much for the reviews and faves. It feels great having a new story to work on :)**

 **Anyone who doesn't like stories with smoking in, maybe ya'll wanna sit this one out. Everyone else, please enjoy and leave a review**

 **Muah! (big kiss)**

* * *

Sonic sat on a rugged sofa, his injured leg resting across on a cushion, yet he hardly made himself comfortable. His eyes kept scanning around the very, very small apartment. It was dark, only one bulb lit the room. The walls looked as if they were supposed to be white, but mold and grime had painted over them. There was a giant T.V on the wall but other than that the place was desolate. One sofa, cushions on the floor, clothes and garbage littered around, everything was filthy, even the couch was worrying to be sat on.

By far Sonic was not a snob. He'd lived most of his life out in the open, sleeping in the dirt and eating whatever he could find. But this? This was horrible.

This was how Eren lived?

The blue hero turned his head over to the unbalanced man who stood in the kitchen area of the room. Though hardly a kitchen. It consisted of a stove, one fold out table, microwave, fridge and a bucket of water with dirty dishes in it. Eren was in the fridge, apparently looking for medical supplies he said earlier.

"Hey Eren… how long have you lived here?" Sonic asked, eyes roaming back around to the pile of pizza boxes that piled up in the corner. He had been quiet for a while, but Sonic didn't think he could keep silence anymore.

Strangely however, Eren was more than happy to talk. "Since I was fifteen, so six years" he smiled, finally closing the fridge door and walking over to join Sonic on the sofa.

Sonic raised his brow as Eren sat down, placing bottled of beer next to his leg. "I thought you were getting a first aid kit?" he asked, watching cautiously as Eren undid the buckle on his shoe. Sliding the red sneaker off his foot, the damage was reviled to be a lot worse than he thought. His once white sock had a smudged line of red along to his toes.

"Dude looks nasty" Eren commented, practically picking up the foot and taking a closer look, much to the hedgehog's annoyance. "Don't worry though my friend, this is why I brought the beer."

"What?"

Before Sonic knew it, the sock was pulled clean off and beer was being poured over his wound.

The stinging, was _not_ something he was going to forget for a while.

Naturally he yelped, trying to retract his foot from the sudden death grip Eren had on him. "Dude chill it's fine. Alcohol is good for you" he smiled, holding the jittery foot down. "The stinging mean's it's working."

"Really? Because it feels like you're sawing my foot off!" Sonic yelled, hands trying to pry his foot free. All Eren did was laugh at him, enjoying his vain efforts of protest. "Nah it's all good. Just gotta wrap it up now" he said, before picking up the beer bottle and drinking what was left.

Sonic swallowed, a strange feeling hitting him in his stomach. Alcohol wasn't something they had on his home planet, but he quickly learned it was a big deal, in most countries as well. Chuck would sometimes have a glass of wine, occasionally going a bit funny afterwards. Tails once asked to try some only to be told he was too young. It was never something Sonic had been concerned about before, but now, he was. What was the deal with it?

Eren was a slow worker. He took his time to wrap, what Sonic hoped was, a bandage around his foot. Only his eye coordination was terrible, and somehow he kept missing the actual foot. All the while through he was swigging from the bottle, gulping it loudly and hiccupping a few times from the bubbles.

Half way though the job, he picked up the second bottle, opened it, then shoved it in Sonic's hands, spilling it along his stomach. "Drink some, it helps the pain, seriously!" he insisted, pressing too hard against the foot as he leaned forward, making sure Sonic took the drink.

Flinching and trying to push him off, Sonic did whatever he wanted, taking the bottle and wiping of the freezing liquid from his fur. It reeked, and now he was going to smell like this all day.

Still though… would it really help with the pain? What was the big deal?

Making up his mind, Sonic knew a try wouldn't hurt him. So he took a small sip from the bottle.

Instantly he spat it back out. "EW! That's disgusting! You actually like this?" he yelled, holding it far away. Eren threw his head back and laughed, undoing half the work he'd managed to get done. "You're such a lightweight man. It's cool, everyone takes a while to get used to it. It does help though, makes you feel better when life sucks" he smiled, for once sounding like he knew what he was talking about. All Sonic needed to do was look around to understand what he meant.

"I guess" he mumbled, then without even thinking about it he put the bottle back to his lips and took another sip. It didn't taste as bad this time.

"You said you've lived here since you were fifteen, did you live with your parents?" Sonic asked as Eren got back to finishing his bandage. He couldn't stop thinking about Chris and that big mansion he lived in. The size of this whole apartment was smaller than one of the guest rooms in that house.

"Nah man they died when I was a kid. I was on the street for a few years until this place came up. There's a dude who owns them and he let me stay for doing a bit of work for him" Eren explained, almost like it was nothing.

"What kind of work?" but when Sonic asked that, he went silent.

Not wanting to push the matter, Sonic took another sip and waited for the awkward silence to pass. "So anyway, that's how I got here. It's not much but it's mi casa" Eren went back to smiling. All Sonic did was nod, looking around once again as if it would make it get better. But it didn't.

Finally finished, Eren placed his foot back on the pillow and leaned back, exhausted after such a difficult job. "Where is it you living again? With that rich family isn't it?"

For reason's he couldn't explain, Sonic felt embarrassed, almost guilty. "Yeah sort of…" he started to say, but Eren was quick to talk again, this time with no smiles. "You know, dude, this system is twisted. Like you have any idea how much people like them spend in a day? On crap? No seriously, do you know? Cause you're like this alien thing, so guess."

Unsure how to answer, Sonic simply shrugged, "I don't know, I don't really go shopping with them."

"Thousands dude. Thousands! Like, that lady actress you stay with. You think she's naturally hot? Hell no. She's spent thousands, millions just on clothes and jewellery" Eren turned to face Sonic and looked his square in the eyes, for a moment it was actually intimidating. "Like, one earring. One freaking earring would feed me for a year. How sad is that? If she gave away some of the jewellery that she never wore, or even cared about, people like me wouldn't have to live like this, walking around streets hoping people would drop food in the bin!"

With every word he spoke, he clearly got more and more passionate about the matter. And the more passionate he got, the closer he would lean over and breathe on Sonic's face. Unfortunately, the hedgehog didn't have much of a choice but to endure the stench of his breath. His face was almost flushing, feeling almost out of his element as Eren spoke badly about the people who gave him a place to stay. Really though, there was no denying it. Eren had a point.

He took another sip… a big one.

In almost an instant though, Eren changed his mood around, but still didn't move any further away from the paralysed hedgehog he was almost crushing. "Hey, you know, seeing as I helped you out and stuff, you think you could do that for me, pal?"

"Wait what?" Sonic gasped, choking on his drink. "Like, get me an earring, or necklace whatever. Just something dude."

"No! I'm not stealing for you Eren. Besides I saved you from that bad guy on the streets, I thought this was you paying me back?"

Eren took a moment to remember, "Oh right yeah. Well I gave you a beer, so now you ow me one."

At this point Sonic was ready to laugh. This guy was insane! "Eren forget it, I'm not stealing." He didn't know how the young man was going to react, whether he'd get angry or start pleading. To his surprise Eren just sighed and threw himself back into the sofa, actually taking no as no. "You're right, sorry Sonic dude. I get desperate sometimes… it's hard you know" he mumbled.

Sonic looked away. He hated to admit it, but Eren did have a point. He knew first hand Lindsay had loads of jewellery she never wore anymore, often saying Cream could play dress up with them, and they weren't cheap. Nothing that woman owed was cheap, Chris even told him that. Heck even her hairbrush was probably worth more than this dump Eren had to live in.

But… what if he asked? They were kind people, surely they'd be more than happy to help.

With a smile Sonic looked over to Eren, ready to tell him his plan. Only he paused, now seeing that Eren had a cigarette in his mouth and was lighting it up.

"Oh hey, you ever try one of these?" Eren asked, seeing that Sonic was staring at him with his brow raised. Almost like being snapped from a dream, Sonic shook his head, "Uh no. I heard they were bad for your health" he said, remembering what Chris had told him after seeing a cigarette for the first time.

Eren only shorted though, a strange smirk forming along his lips that hadn't been seen before. "What did the rich people tell you that?"

Sonic looked down for a moment and that was all the answer Eren needed. "Nah dude they're totally fine. They'd of just told you that so you don't make them look bad or something. Smoking is a peasant thing to them."

That didn't make sense, he'd seen lots of rich people smoking before.

Before he could reason though, Eren handed out the packet, the cigarettes displayed temptingly, "Come on just try it. You didn't think you'd like the beer but you've drank it dry."

Sonic looked down at the bottle in his hands. He hadn't even realised it was empty at this point.

"Come on, don't be scared. Or maybe it's just too grown up for you?"

Just like that, Eren had crawled under Sonic's skin. If there was one thing Sonic was known for other than his super speed, it was his incredible stubbornness. All he needed was one comment before it became his mission to prove someone wrong. And despite all his better judgement, today was no exception.

With a mocking laugh, Sonic pulled the cigarette from its package. He placed it between his lips, just as he'd seen others do it in the past. Eren leaned forward with the lighter.

No backing out now.

It was lit, and Sonic breathed in.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry it's only a small chapter, but as I have a busy day tomorrow and likely wont get a chance to write for a couple of days, I thought it best I upload at least something.**

 **Thank you for the reviews so far, I'm glad you like where the story is going and trust me there is a lot more to come.**

 **Boy I'm tired.**

 **Anyways, enjoy :)**

* * *

The next morning hadn't been the best Sonic felt in his life. With his head held over the toilet basin and Tails reluctantly rubbing his back and looking away as the world hero heaved.

"Are you okay now?" Tails asked, hoping it was finally over, but unfortunately he looked down only to see Sonic still had one more left in him. The young fox gagged, hearing the vomit hit the water. The smell was atrocious, like sour milk mixed with urine. He knew it hardly Sonic's fault, and he made the mistake of being the one to wake Sonic up after finding him slumped over the sofa. But this right now was the true test of friendship.

After what felt like a life time Sonic lifted his head and breathed. He wiped away sweat and allowed his body to limply fall down to the floor, head resting against the side of the toilet. Dignity was hardly his friend right now. Tails however, was, as he rushed to get tissue paper and wipe Sonic's mouth clean. Barely having the strength to stop him, Sonic just let him get on.

"You're burning up, and you look really pale. What happened to you yesterday?" Tails asked while placing his hand against Sonic's forehead and feeling his abnormal high temperature. Sonic could hardly keep his eyes open, never mind give details about last night.

All he did was shake his head, meaning that he didn't want to, or couldn't, talk about it. He groaned, hand gripping against his head as a horrible stabbing pain got him right through the temples. This only sent Tails into a frenzy. Sonic never gets ill.

"Okay, okay, um… I-I'll go get Chuck, he'll know what to do" Tails was ready to rush off for help, but Sonic was quick to grab his arm, finding a little more strength to do so. "No… no it's fine… I'm okay now" he reassured, despite sounding out of breath just from talking. Tails wasn't convinced though. "Are you sure? You could have a virus, you really don't look well" he argued, but making no effort to pull himself away.

Sonic weakly smiled and gave him a thumbs up, "Don't worry… lil buddy… Just gotta sleep it off."

Tails was silent. His brows furrowed together, unsure of what to do. But in the end he knew Sonic could take care of himself, and he didn't want to undermine him. "Okay, I'll help you get to bed. But I'm going to tell Chuck you're not feeling well" he said.

"Tails don't!"

"I have to. We're supposed to be going to the Thorndike's opening party tonight for their new hotel remember? You were going to cut the ribbon."

Sonic paused for a moment, trying to remember if that was true. He sighed however, realising it actually was. He went to China for a few days despite Chris pleading him not to, worried he'd forget about the party. Sonic assured him though he'd make it back and not to worry, hence rushing to get home yesterday. "Man you're right… forgot about that… just help me to bed" he said, not exactly caring about the party right now. All he wanted was to get rid of this headache, it killed!

Tails nodded before reaching down and wrapping his arms around Sonic's torso, helping him balance as he stood up.

It was a slow pace but the two walked to the nearest guest room, one of the many in this mansion. Typically, Sonic wanted to sleep outside, but Tails insisted he sleep in a bed this time.

Something about it felt weird though, almost wrong. As Tails helped Sonic get into the king sized bed, even going as far as tucking him under the blankets, Sonic didn't feel relaxed, or even comfortable. His mind was screaming for peace, but his emerald eyes scanned around the room, and he realised quickly that it was the same size as Eren's apartment.

Tails left to get him a glass of water, and probably to tell Chuck as well, but while he was gone Sonic couldn't settle. He thought about last night over and over. This party the Thorndike's were having was ridiculous. They spent near millions, going all out and doing everything up in gold. A red carpet was laid out, and apparently celebrities of all sorts were going to be there, even the president. Nope the Thorndike's never did anything small. It was all or nothing for them and money was never an issue. Yet what else could they have spent that money on? Better yet, what could Eren and people like him spent that money on? Food, heating, a better place to live? No instead the money was used to buy the golden forks Chris's mother obsessed over for the better part of four months. Not to mention they've used the Chaos emerald as a centre piece for the whole event.

Why did they need this? It was a stupid hotel!

Last night… Sonic felt different. He had never been ashamed of his situation, there was no need to be. But when Eren pointed out he was getting things easy… he didn't know, it felt like he lost morals or something. Sonic wasn't a spoiled rich kid, he knew more than anyone what life on the streets was like, not knowing when your next meal was coming or if you would have anywhere warm to stay. Yet look at him now, sleeping on a soft bed, surrounded by expensive tat that served no real purpose at all.

Eren was right, the system was messed up.

The door opened and Tails walked in along with Chuck. Straight away the old man's eyes widened, seeing the grey complexion and the bags under Sonic's eyes. No doubt he was surprised, Chuck had probably expected Sonic to be faking again to get out of doing something he didn't want to do.

"My word Tails you weren't joking" he commented, as if Sonic couldn't hear him.

Much to the hedgehog's annoyance Chuck also reached out his hand and placed it on his forehead, feeling for a temperature. He hated being touched and he hated being babied, this was a nightmare. "I'm fine… I just want to sleep" Sonic complained, voice shallow and quiet.

"Probably for the best. If you were sick, then you probably caught a bug. I did warn you about not getting those shots and going abroad remember" Chuck lectured, crossing his arms. Sonic, oddly unappreciative, only moaned before placing one of the many pillows (mostly used for décor) over his face.

"Chuck when I found him this morning he had a bandage on his foot, do you think there might be an infection?" Tails worriedly asked. It was supposed to be the first thing to mention when he found Sonic this morning, but unfortunately the moment the hedgehog opened his eyes, he threw his hand to his mouth and rushed to the bathroom.

Chuck held his chin in his hands and thought to himself first. "Depends on what happened to it. Sonic are you up for explaining… Sonic?" they both were taking aback by the lack of movement. However, when they lifted the pillow, a breath of relief was in order as the light snores that emitted from the sleeping blue hedgehog.

"Come on Tails, we'll leave him for now. If he's not better by tonight I'll ring for a doctor" Chuck whispered, before lightly stepping out of the room. Tails waited until the door was closed, leaving the sleeping hedgehog on the other side in piece, before walking down the hall with the inventor. "What about the party tonight, Sonic was supposed to cut the ribbon?"

"Well if he's not feeling well, then he's not feeling well. We can't drag him out if he's not up to it. All we can do is keep an eye on him" Chuck shrugged, obviously not one to be phased by illnesses. Tails was the complete opposite though. "But what about his leg, when I walked him to the room he was limping, I'm really worried, he should be in hospital!"

Chuck couldn't help but laugh. "Tails don't worry he'll be fine. We can't do anything while he's sleeping, so it's best to leave him to it."

Obviously not the answer he wanted, Tails looked down sadly, "Okay" he mumbled before walking ahead to the dining room where Ella was serving breakfast.

The old man however stood still, looking back over his shoulder to the room Sonic slept in. When Sonic woke up all he could do was hope he'd be up for a bath. He didn't know why, but the hedgehog stank of smoke.


	4. Chapter 4

**Oh my days it feels like ages since I updated. Sorry I've had a lot going on, and seriously I have been very unmotivated with this chapter haha.**

 **Anyways, now that it's finally done and out the way hopefully I'll update quicker now that I can get on with the good stuff ^^**

 **Thank you guys for the reviews and hope you like the chapter :)**

* * *

It hadn't been as long as they expected. Everyone in the mansion house was getting ready, the girls taking their time to dress up and look nice while the boys worked out how to do a bow tie. Sure Tails could build an aircraft in impossible time but he couldn't figure out a simple knot? How does Ella make it look so easy?

There was only one person not ready and only an hour before they had to leave. Tails hovered outside of the room Sonic was sleeping in. He wanted to knock but was worried about waking Sonic up if he wasn't feeling well. Only they needed him to get up, then they would know if they needed a doctor or not. Why did he have to have this responsibility?

With his fist balled, he was just about to knock, but Sonic beat him to it and opened the door wide, leaving Tails hanging. Despite the shock, the young fox was soon to smile.

"Sonic you're up" he announced happily, seeing the hedgehog grin.

"Yeah well, it will take more than a bug to keep me down. Guess I just needed that extra bit of sleep" Sonic shrugged, leaning against the door frame. His eyes trailed down, blinking at the formal attire his best friend wore. "What's with the posh getup bud?" he asked.

Tails shyly crossed his arms and laughed, "It's for the party tonight. It's black tie remember?"

"You're wearing red" he replied bluntly.

If there was any hint of apprehension, Tails didn't catch it. "That's not what it means. I'm just glad you're awake in time. Come on, they have a suit for you in Chris's room, Ella can help with the tie. Everyone's almost ready and we're meeting Chris's parents at the hotel" Tails said as he walked off, expecting Sonic to be following behind.

There was no sound of footsteps other than his own however, so he looked back only to see Sonic still leaning against the door frame, a strange distant look on his face.

"Is everything okay?"

Instantly Sonic replied. "Don't you think it's a bit stupid? This whole party? It's just a hotel, whose it supposed to help?"

Tails felt something weird, almost like confusion. "Well I guess it doesn't really. It's just to celebrate it's opening and get the word out to people, they spent a lot of money making this hotel nice for customers" he answered kindly, remaining positive.

Sonic however was acting strange. He huffed before looking down to the floor, almost like he was trying not to get angry.

"Yeah well there's a million hotels in the city already, why did they need a new one?"

"Sonic, what's going on with you? It's just a building?" Tails was getting worried. He couldn't explain where this sudden dislike of hotels came from. He walked over to his big brother and placed a hand on his arm. Sonic didn't push him away, instead he sighed, keeping his eyes fixated to the distance past Tails's face. "You remember when you first started traveling with me?"

"Yes?"

"The tornado broke down and we had to scavenge the parts ourselves. We were stuck on the streets for two weeks and every night we didn't know if we'd have a bed to sleep in or a sidewalk."

Tails was quick to smile, "Most nights we didn't though. You met people every day and helped them out and in return they let us stay with them for the night, even feeding us! We slept outside four nights and you said you didn't mind. It was for my sake you wanted a room for us."

Sonic waved his hands, cutting the fox off, "That's not what I'm talking about Tails. I'm talking about this world. There's none of that here!"

"People on the streets?"

"People willing to help them."

There was a brief moment of silence and Tails let the words sink in. No matter how much he thought it through though, he was still ignorant. "What does that have to do with the hotel?"

"Forget it! You wouldn't understand!" the hedgehog snapped, taking Tails by surprise as he marched past down the hall, leaving the fox behind. "Sonic wait! I…" It was no use, he was gone. Tails dropped his shoulders, upset with himself for not understanding.

What was wrong with building a hotel?

* * *

Sonic walked downstairs and into the living room. He had hoped no one would be in there, but no luck. Chuck was sitting in his arm chair flicking through the channels on the tv. His eyes flickered over to the hero and smiled, "Sonic, you're up, how are you feeling?" he asked, switching the tv off. He was already dressed, adding to the annoyance that Sonic had built up after his conversation with Tails. "I'm fine now" was all he said, sitting down on the sofa and getting comfortable.

"That's good to hear. We were worried you weren't going to make it for the opening."

The response was only a groan. Although Chuck didn't register it and continued, "Well I suppose you better get ready. Less than an hour and we'll have Ella kicking us out the door."

"I don't want to go."

There was a brief pause before Chuck gave his full attention to the hedgehog. "What? Why would you not want to go?" he asked while turning off the tv.

Sonic shrugged his shoulders, blowing air through his lips. "I think it's a waste of time. There so much more we should be doing then going to a stupid party for a hotel."

"Sonic it's not just about the hotel. Besides what should we be doing at this hour, going out looking for the chaos emeralds again?"

"No I don't mean that!"

Chuck shook his head, evident in his face that he was getting grumpy over the matter, "You made a promise to Nelson, the press is expecting you to show up and cut the ribbon. If you're not sick then you have no reason to not go."

Already Sonic was getting impatient, and that only added to his irritation. He had half hoped that Chuck would have at least listened to him but before he could even explain the old man started on him. If he hadn't of made that stupid promise then he could have easily refused to go.

Angrily Sonic pushed himself out the chair, and impulsively out of nowhere kicked the coffee table, knocking the flower vase over in the process, before storming out the room.

Chuck quickly corrected the vase, mumbling over the spilt water on the table. His eyes stared at the door Sonic had slammed after leaving. What was bugging him so much to make him do that? He knew Sonic could have a temper, but that was a bit much.

Back upstairs Sonic walked into Chris's room, begrudgingly knowing he'd have to put a suit on. Chris wasn't in the room, and judging by the time they'd probably be ready to leave.

A small, custom tailored black suit was hanging on the door frame of the wardrobe, and with a curse under his breath Sonic grabbed it off it's hanger, not caring how much effort was put in to make sure it stayed un-creased before the party. Even this suit! This suit that the Thorndyke's insisted he wore! It was tailored by the most expensive designer they could find, along with all of his friend's outfits. This suit could probably pay off Eren's rent for the year.

Thus he was back to how he felt this morning. Consciously he felt his throat dry up, and the bitter taste of ash and vomit started to resurface. Sonic couldn't help it though. He felt guilty. There was so much he could do to help but he didn't have money…

His emerald eyes flickered around Chris's room.

There was so many expensive things in this room that never got used, video games, toys, strange collectables. Chris barely spent any time in his room. He was always out with Tails or his friends. None of this stuff had no value, his parents only got him the best of the best.

He saw on the shelve on the far end of the room a baseball sitting on a stand, signed by someone famous. He remembered asking about it, seeing if Chris wanted to play a round with him. That's when Chris told him that it was a gift from his dad. He didn't care much for it, but had to keep it safe. It was worth something.

Chris didn't even care about it, and his parents are never around… it wouldn't hurt if…

Sonic had to mentally stop himself. He gasped realising how close he was stood next to the ball. His hand hovering over the gift, ready to snatch it. Pulling back and shaking his head, he walked back to the bed where the suit had been thrown. A lot of mixed emotions running crazy now. Still angry about the situation, but now disappointed in what he was trying to do. He had to put a hand to his temple, feeling overwhelmed by it all. Sonic still felt sick, his stomach twisting in knots while an unusual stress was taking over.

He didn't understand what was wrong with himself. He was having a go at his friends for a party and even thinking of stealing from Chris! Sonic started slapping his own face, "Stop it! Stop it! This isn't you!" he told himself, feeling like he was waking himself up from a dream. Might as well have been, his head was messed up.

With everything going on he found himself wanting a drink.

Maybe even another cigarette…


	5. Chapter 5

**Wow okay this chapter is ridiculously short. Normally I do about over 1000 words or so but I guess this is just to ease back into the story as a couple of people have been asking me to update and it's been a long time, so it's mostly too see if anyone is still interested in this story.**

 **Please let me know whether to update or not, hopefully if you have any ideas please pitch them to me as I'm not feeling as into this story as much now, but if you want to see it continue I'll do my best.**

 **Again sorry it's so short, hope you enjoy.**

* * *

Everything was what he expected it to be. Sonic couldn't bring himself to pretend that he was having a good time, happy to be there or that he cared. The press had lined up, camera's focused on him to cut the ribbon with biggish sized scissors that were made from gold and had jewels impressed into the blades. If they had expected a speech from him then they had been sadly let down. All Sonic did was march up to the ribbon, grab the scissors, snip, done, walked off. He was supposed to say a few words, then smile dramatically and cut the red material slowly. The photographers almost missed it happening.

No one said anything however. Inside when the party started Sonic's mood still didn't change. He was sat at his table while everyone else was up socialising. Amy however, wasn't taking the hint of wanting to be alone.

"Come on, dance with me" she urged, tugging on his arm. Sonic pulled away.

"Leave me alone Amy."

"What is with you? You've been miserable all day" she huffed, placing her hands on her hips.

Sonic rolled his eyes. "I've been ill, what do you expect. I'm not in the mood for you" he snapped before turning his head away. Amy, still not wanting to give up, playfully tugged on his ear. "Mr. Moody pants, get your butt off this chair and dance with me" she laughed. This did not improve Sonic's attitude however as he swiped his arm out, knocking her hand away before angrily getting up and walking away, cursing under his breath.

Amy didn't follow him. She was stunned at his sudden aggressiveness. He wasn't normally that easily annoyed… he must still be feeling ill.

Walking out the back door, making sure no one would see him, or try to start a conversation, Sonic kept his head low, trying to escape the noise. His head pounded from the loud classical music. All the snobs trying to great him as he were to be honoured by their presence. It made him feel sick again. This was a bad time to go to this party. Whatever he drank last night was messing his head up and all this battle of the wealthiest was getting to him. That, plus his leg still hurting, which no one even seemed interested in, so long as he could make an appearance, like a puppet. It was becoming too much now.

He leaned against the wall, inhaling the fresh air. It felt like his stomach was churning. The bright lights in the ball room made him see black dots, and it was like a noose around his head. Sonic slowly slid down the wall, sitting on the cold, refreshing concreate. It felt good to be away from that. He wasn't one to get easily stressed, but today was one of those days. No doubt tomorrow he'd be over it, and everything would be fine, but for now, nothing was.

Silence only lasted for a few moments, until he heard a voice greeting from a distance. Sonic opened his eyes and looked around, not recognising the voice. Soon he realised though that there was a man from the party who had stepped outside to answer his phone, and was talking to a woman called Sarah or something, nothing that got Sonic's interest. He was about to rest his head back but then a familiar sent reached his nose.

Immediately his eyes were drawn back to the man, who held a cigarette in his hands, freshly lighted.

Sonic couldn't deny it, all he was thinking about was the smell. It was repulsive, yet completely intoxicating. Even from his hiding place near the walls, it was all he could breathe in. It made him feel sick though, and it felt like he was going to throw up in his mouth. At this point, Sonic's head pounded. He wanted to go home… or just go to bed, it didn't matter where.

His brow suddenly raised.

He wasn't that far from Eren's.


End file.
